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Monday, 17 April 2017

Urquhart Castle

Although the Highland Research and History Tour didn't officially start until Friday evening, we were all in Inverness by Thursday evening, so after breakfast, we piled into the van and headed for Urquhart Castle.

King James IV bestowed "the lands of Glen Urquharr and
its castle" upon John Grant of Freuchie. Overlooking beautiful Loch Ness, the Castle was frequently under
siege by MacDonald, Lord of the Isles.

The Garrison

When the Grants abandoned the castle, they demolished the front entrance to stop the castle from coming into the hands of the Jacobite forces. They catapulted canon balls from a trebuchet to knock pieces of the grand entrance apart

This is a fragment that blew off the Grand Entrance during the explosion:

The day was wonderful and everyone enjoyed the day and the history, but being in the presence of someone who could prove an ancestral connection made touring the castle quite special.

My Blog for Scottish Genealogy

About Me

Scottish born, Canadian raised, Christine Woodcock had the
best of both worlds, growing up immersed in Scottish culture. Realising that
others of the Scots diaspora were not as fortunate, she started her business,
Genealogy Tours of Scotland (https://www.genealogytoursofscotland.ca/)
to allow others researching their Scottish roots the opportunity to return to
the land of their ancestors, conduct family history research and deepen their
sense of belonging to their ancestral kin.